To grow the greenest jobs, invest in N.Y.C. public parks

By Bette Midler and Connie Roosevelt

Feb 04, 2009 | 6:37 PM

Seventy years ago, when this nation suffered its last great economic crisis, New York City was transformed with Works Progress Administration support for major construction projects. Through the WPA, hardworking New Yorkers built bridges, tunnels and highways - but it was the investment in parks, swimming pools, playgrounds and public open space that most profoundly changed the face of the city.

Consider the positive impact when, during the 1930s, New York City built more than 578 new playgrounds and 15 swimming pools, added more than 20,000 acres of parkland, and created more than 84,000 construction jobs. The FDR-era WPA understood that building great public spaces was not indulgent or wasteful; indeed, it was fundamental to the nation's quality of life.

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With a new economic stimulus plan again on the drawing board, there's a lesson for us all in this. While, of course, it's important that we repair, maintain and build crumbling roads, bridges, energy grids and other pieces of our critical infrastructure, we must not neglect a new generation of expansion and improvement of our common ground: our public parks.

All across the nation, parks are in need of renovation and rejuvenation. And here in New York - where parks are in so many ways the glue that holds the city together - the need is especially pressing. There are more than 25 "shovel-ready" capital projects, totaling more than $1.1 billion, to build new parks or fix existing ones all throughout the city.

Yes, parks for the most part have improved during the Bloomberg administration. But given the economy, we worry that they may fall into the same sore and unsafe sights of the 1970s. It's a very real, and very disturbing, possibility.

In all five boroughs, now is the time for neighborhood parks to be improved. Some infrastructure projects that will better serve park users include: reconstruction of all of the city's boardwalks in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island; wetland restoration citywide; completion of the city's extensive greenway system including the Bronx River Greenway; restore park paths and trails across the city; and complete, massive seawall restoration.

Each $1 billion spent on public parks works will create 40,000 new jobs. These "green collar jobs" in these urban open spaces, will yield a host of benefits. Parks green our cities, soothe our summer swelter, clean our air, shelter our wildlife and give us all a respite from the concrete jungle.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park and Hudson River Park, for example, are fully planned, already underway, and waiting to be completed. In addition, Governors Island presents an enormous opportunity for open space in the heart of New York Harbor. Investment in these park projects will quickly create jobs, enhance the quality of life, stimulate economic growth, and increase real estate values across the city. A recent study by the Friends of Hudson River Park shows that a $200 million increase in property values around the park can be attributed to the construction of Hudson River Park.

On the open fields and lawns within our great city, we play, we flirt, we stroll. We also encourage interaction and embolden democracy, as we have in cities since civilization began. As we commit to repair the infrastructure that enables travel between town and country, let us also reinvigorate the spaces in which we come together as a galvanized populace once more.

We have a tremendous opportunity to bring critical economic stimulus to New York City. Helping the city rebound, given its role in the national economy, will help the entire nation rebound. Let's remember the legacy of the FDR WPA and let's invest in the public life of this country by once again making parks a priority and part of our national political and economic agenda. Public green spaces for all people can be one great legacy of our next New Deal.

Midler is Founder of New York Restoration Project. Roosevelt is a conservation activist.